U.S. patent application number 11/370990 was filed with the patent office on 2006-10-26 for fan module and fan duct thereof.
This patent application is currently assigned to DELTA ELECTRONICS, INC.. Invention is credited to Wen-Shi Huang, Po-Hao Yu.
Application Number | 20060237453 11/370990 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 37085195 |
Filed Date | 2006-10-26 |
United States Patent
Application |
20060237453 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Yu; Po-Hao ; et al. |
October 26, 2006 |
Fan module and fan duct thereof
Abstract
A fan duct, which is adapted to be used with a fan, includes a
body, a guiding part and at least one supporting element. The body
has an accommodating space, and the guiding part is disposed
therein. The guiding part has a first end surface and a second end
surface, and the area of the first end surface is larger than that
of the second end surface. The supporting element is disposed in
the accommodating space for connecting the guiding part and the
body.
Inventors: |
Yu; Po-Hao; (Taoyuan Hsien,
TW) ; Huang; Wen-Shi; (Taoyuan Hsien, TW) |
Correspondence
Address: |
BIRCH STEWART KOLASCH & BIRCH
PO BOX 747
FALLS CHURCH
VA
22040-0747
US
|
Assignee: |
DELTA ELECTRONICS, INC.
|
Family ID: |
37085195 |
Appl. No.: |
11/370990 |
Filed: |
March 9, 2006 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
219/757 ;
257/E23.099 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H01L 2924/0002 20130101;
H01L 2924/00 20130101; H01L 23/467 20130101; H01L 2924/0002
20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
219/757 |
International
Class: |
H05B 6/64 20060101
H05B006/64 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Apr 22, 2005 |
TW |
094112958 |
Claims
1. A fan duct adapted to be used with a fan, comprising: a body
having an accommodating space; a guiding part disposed in the
accommodating space, wherein the guiding part has a first end
surface and a second end surface, and the area of the first end
surface is larger than that of the second end surface; and at least
one supporting element disposed in the accommodating space for
connecting the guiding part and the body.
2. The fan duct according to claim 1, wherein the guiding part
comprises a taper with a flat top side.
3. The fan duct according to claim 1, wherein the fan is an axial
fan or a centrifugal fan.
4. The fan duct according to claim 1, wherein the fan comprises a
hub, a plurality of blades, and a housing coupled to the body, and
the hub is disposed corresponding to the first end surface of the
guiding part.
5. The fan duct according to claim 4, wherein the area of the first
end surface of the guiding part is substantially equal to that of
the hub.
6. The fan duct according to claim 1, wherein the supporting
element is a rib or a stationary blade.
7. The fan duct according to claim 1, wherein the guiding part
extends from one end to the other end of the body.
8. The fan duct according to claim 1, wherein the second end
surface of the guiding part is located within the accommodating
space.
9. The fan duct according to claim 1, wherein the body, the guiding
part and the supporting element are integrally formed as a single
unit.
10. A fan module, comprising: a fan; and a first fan duct coupled
to the fan and comprising a body, a guiding part and at least one
supporting element, wherein the body has an accommodating space,
the guiding part is disposed in the accommodating space and has a
first end surface and a second end surface, the area of the first
end surface is larger than that of the second end surface, and the
supporting element is disposed in the accommodating space for
connecting the guiding part and the body.
11. The fan module according to claim 10, wherein the guiding part
comprises a taper with a flat top side.
12. The fan module according to claim 10, wherein the fan is an
axial fan or a centrifugal fan.
13. The fan module according to claim 10, wherein the fan comprises
a hub, a plurality of blades and a housing coupled to the body, and
the hub is disposed corresponding to the first end surface of the
guiding part.
14. The fan module according to claim 13, wherein the area of the
first end surface of the guiding part is substantially equal to
that of the hub.
15. The fan module according to claim 10, wherein the supporting
element is a rib or a stationary blade.
16. The fan module according to claim 10, wherein the guiding part
extends from one end to the other end of the body.
17. The fan module according to claim 10, wherein the second end
surface of the guiding part is located within the accommodating
space.
18. The fan module according to claim 10, wherein the body, the
guiding part and the supporting element are integrally formed as a
single unit.
19. The fan module according to claim 10, wherein the first end
surface of the first fan duct is located close to an inlet or
outlet of the fan.
20. The fan module according to claim 10, further comprising a
second fan duct, wherein the first fan duct and the second fan duct
are disposed at inlet and outlet of the fan, respectively.
Description
[0001] This Non-provisional application claims priority under
U.S.C..sctn. 119(a) on Patent Application No(s). 094112958, filed
in Taiwan, Republic of China on Apr. 22, 2005, the entire contents
of which are hereby incorporated by reference.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] 1. Field of Invention
[0003] The present invention relates to a module and a duct
thereof, and more particularly to a fan module and a fan duct
thereof.
[0004] 2. Related Art
[0005] Due to rapid development of technology, electronic
apparatuses such as computers have become necessities for life.
However, accompanying to the amount of transistors within a unit
area of an electronic apparatus is more and more increasing and
lots of functional modules are integrated into the electronic
apparatus, which cause much heat generated from the electronic
apparatus during its operation.
[0006] Generally, the working temperature of the transistors and
the transformers in a computer system raises when they operate over
a period of time. When the working temperature is too high, the
computer system will be unstable or even crashed.
[0007] In order to maintain the electronic apparatus within its
operation temperature range, a fan and a heat sink are used in
dissipating the heat. As shown in FIG. 1, a conventional heat
dissipating structure 1 includes a heat sink 10 and a fan 20. The
heat sink 10 and the fan 20 are sequentially disposed above a heat
source (such as central processing unit, CPU). Heat generated from
the heat source will be transferred to the heat sink 10 and then be
dissipated to outside. Also, the fan 20 provides airflows for
increasing dissipating effect of the heat sink 10.
[0008] In order to meet the requirements of the computer system,
such as multi-function and fast processing speed, the voltage and
working frequency are correspondingly increased, which raises the
working temperature of the computer system. In order to maintain
the working temperature with an appropriate working temperature
range, it is necessary to improve the dissipating efficiency.
[0009] Conventionally, by enlarging or prolonging blades of the fan
20, by raising rotating speed of the fan 20 or by using more than
one fan 20 may raise heat dissipating efficiency. However, the
airflow generated by the fan 20 is not guided into the heat sink 10
and is outwardly spread far away from the fan 20. As the result,
there is no enough airflow sent to the heat sink 10 and thus heat
cannot be effectively dissipated.
[0010] It is therefore an important subject of the present
invention to provide a fan module and a fan duct capable of
effectively dissipating heat and solving above-mentioned
problems.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0011] In view of the foregoing, the present invention is to
provide a fan module and a fan duct capable of effectively
dissipating heat.
[0012] To achieve the above, a fan duct according to the present
invention is disclosed. The fan duct is adapted to be used with a
fan and includes a body, a guiding part and at least one supporting
element. In the present invention, the body has an accommodating
space, and the guiding part is disposed in the accommodating space.
The guiding part has a first end surface and a second end surface,
and the area of the first end surface is larger than that of the
second end surface. The supporting element is disposed in the
accommodating space for connecting the guiding part and the
body.
[0013] To achieve the above, a fan module according to the present
invention is also disclosed. The fan module includes a fan and at
least one fan duct. The fan duct is coupled to the fan and includes
a body, a guiding part and at least one supporting element. The
body has an accommodating space, and the guiding part is disposed
in the accommodating space. The guiding part has a first end
surface and a second end surface, and the area of the first end
surface is larger than that of the second end surface. The
supporting element is disposed in the accommodating space for
connecting the guiding part and the body.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0014] The present invention will become more fully understood from
the detailed description given herein below illustration only, and
thus is not limitative of the present invention, and wherein:
[0015] FIG. 1 is a schematic view showing a conventional heat
dissipating structure;
[0016] FIG. 2 is a schematic view showing a fan duct and a fan
according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention;
[0017] FIGS. 3A and 3B are cross-sectional views showing different
preferred embodiments of a fan duct according to the present
invention;
[0018] FIG. 4 is a schematic view showing a preferred embodiment of
a fan module according to the present invention; and
[0019] FIG. 5 is a schematic view showing another embodiment of a
fan module according to the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0020] The present invention will be apparent from the following
detailed description, which proceeds with reference to the
accompanying drawings, wherein the same references relate to the
same elements.
[0021] As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, a preferred embodiment of a fan
duct 2 according to the present invention is adapted to be used
with a fan 3, and includes a body 21, a guiding part 22 and at
least one supporting element 23.
[0022] The body 21 has an accommodating space 211, and the guiding
part 22 is disposed in the accommodating space 211. The guiding
part 22 has a first end surface 221 and a second end surface 222,
as shown in FIG. 3A. The area of the first end surface 221 is
larger than that of the second end surface 222. In this embodiment,
the guiding part 22 is a preferred taper with a flat top side (i.e.
the end surface is flat). The first end surface 221 and the second
end surface 222 are located at two ends of the guiding part 22,
respectively.
[0023] As shown in FIG. 2, the supporting element 23 is disposed in
the accommodating space 211 and is disposed between the guiding
part 22 and the body 21 for connecting the guiding part 22 and the
body 21 so as to support the fan duct 2. Further, the supporting
element 23 is preferably a rib or a stationary blade.
[0024] In FIG. 3A, the guiding part 22 extends from one end to the
other end of the body 21. Also, because the area of the first end
surface 221 is larger than that of the second end surface 222, an
opening dimension "a" of the first end surface 221 is smaller than
an opening dimension "b" of the second end surface 222.
Alternatively, the guiding part 22 may extend from one end to the
interior of the body 21, so that the second end surface 222 of the
guiding part 22 may be located within the accommodating space 211
of the body 21, as shown in FIG. 3B.
[0025] According to practical requirements, the body 21, the
guiding part 22 and the supporting element 23 are separate elements
and are combined together to form the fan duct 2, or the body 21,
the guiding part 22 and the supporting element 23 are integrally
formed as a single unit when they are manufactured. That is to say,
the fan duct 2 is a single element.
[0026] As shown in FIG. 2, the fan 3 includes a hub 31, a plurality
of blades 32 and a housing 33. The hub 31 is disposed corresponding
to the first end surface 221 of the guiding part 22. Also, the hub
31 and the guiding part 22 are disposed with respect to the same
axial line. The blades 32 are positioned corresponding to the area
which is between the guiding part 22 and the body 21 in a
projection direction. In this embodiment, the hub 31 of the fan 3
is disposed corresponding to the first end surface 221, and the
housing 33 is coupled to the body 21 of the fan duct 2 so that the
fan 3 is jointed with the fan duct 2. The area of the first end
surface 221 of the guiding part 22 is substantially equal to that
of the hub 31 of the fan 3. In addition, the fan 3 may be an axial
fan or a centrifugal fan.
[0027] As shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 3A, when the fan duct 2 is
located close to the outlet of the fan 3, the airflow generated by
the fan 3 is guided into the fan duct 2. In view of the opening
dimension "b" being larger than the opening dimension "a", the
airflow guided into the fan duct 2 is modulated so that the dynamic
pressure and airflow speed are increased.
[0028] Alternatively, when the fan duct 2 is located close to the
inlet of the fan 3, the airflow enters the fan 3 prior to passing
through the fan duct 2. In view of the opening dimension "a" is
smaller than the opening dimension "b", the airflow is guided by
the fan duct 2 to reach the blades 32 only but not reach the hub
31. As the results, it will concentrate the airflow intake and make
sure that all airflow entering the fan 3 is totally used so that
the performance is improved.
[0029] Furthermore, referring to FIG. 4, a preferred embodiment of
a fan module 4 according to the present invention includes a fan 3
and at least one fan duct 2. The fan duct 2 is coupled to the fan 3
and includes a body 21, a guiding part 22 and at least one
supporting element 23.
[0030] The fan duct 2 has the same construction and function as
described above. The corresponding descriptions are omitted for
concise purpose. The connection between the fan duct 2 and the fan
3 is also the same as described above. The first end surface 221 of
the fan duct 2 may be disposed at an inlet or outlet of the fan 3
for raising dynamic pressure and stream speed or concentrating the
airflow to improve the heat-dissipating quality. Or, the fan module
4 may include two fan ducts 2 disposed adjacently at the outlet of
the fan 3. Or, the fan module 4' may include two fan ducts 2
disposed at the inlet and outlet of the fan 3, respectively, as
shown in FIG. 5.
[0031] In summary, an airflow is guided by the body and the guiding
part with different area at both ends of the fan duct so that
dynamic pressure and stream speed of the fan can be increased.
Compared with the prior art, because the area of the first end
surface is larger than that of the second end surface, an opening
dimension between the first end surface and the body is smaller
than that between the second end surface and the body. When the
first end surface of the fan duct is coupled to the fan and the fan
duct is located at the outlet of the fan, the dynamic pressure and
stream speed of the fan is increased, and thereby the fan module
including the fan and the fan duct can dissipate heat more
effectively. In addition, when the fan duct is located close to the
inlet of the fan, the airflow intake is concentrated to make sure
that all airflow entering the fan is totally used so that the
heat-dissipating quality is improved.
[0032] Although the present invention has been described with
reference to specific embodiments, this description is not meant to
be construed in a pivoting sense. Various modifications of the
disclosed embodiments, as well as alternative embodiments, will be
apparent to persons skilled in the art. It is, therefore,
contemplated that the appended claims will cover all modifications
that fall within the true scope of the present invention.
* * * * *